Former Sen. Vance Hartke died July 27 of heart failure at age 84. He was the first Indiana Democrat to serve three terms.

Hartke was first elected to the Senate in 1958 and lost in 1976 to now-Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).

During the latter part of his 18-year Senate tenure, Hartke was best known for his opposition to the Vietnam War and ran briefly as the anti-war presidential candidate in 1972.

He also helped develop plans for student loan programs, veterans affairs benefits and Amtrak and Conrail. As chairman of the transportation subcommittee, he fought for safer cars. He also crafted the International Executive Service Corps, a group dedicated to assisting small businesses in poor countries transform themselves into larger companies.

Hartke, a native of Stendal, Ind., graduated from the University of Evansville and obtained a law degree from Indiana University. He also was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard and a Naval officer.

After his defeat in the 1976 Senate election, he practiced law in his private firm in the Washington area.

Hartke is survived by Martha, his wife of 60 years, as well as four sons, three daughters and 16 grandchildren.

He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Ex-Idaho Rep. Hamer Budge Dies at 92

Former Rep. Hamer Budge (R-Idaho), a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, died July 22 in Arizona at age 92.

Budge, the son of former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice Alfred Budge, began his own career as a page in the Idaho state House of Representatives at age 14. A Stanford University graduate, he went on to attend the University of Idaho College of Law.

From 1939 to 1942, Budge served in the Idaho state Legislature and later as a lieutenant commander for the U.S. Naval forces during World War II. Upon returning from war, he served one more term in the Idaho state House, where he functioned as Republican Floor Leader, before being elected in 1950 in the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Idaho’s 2nd district. He remained in the House until 1960.

In 1961, Budge was given a district judgeship and in 1964 was named to the Securities and Exchange Commission by then-President Lyndon Johnson. He was later named chairman of the commission by President Richard Nixon and served for two years before resigning in 1971.

He later took a leadership position in Investors Mutual Funds, based in Minneapolis.

— Ashley Johnson